Emmy's Cow

Set in the rural United States during the late 19th century, Emmy (the heroine) lives in the woods with her elderly and very sick mother.

Bazel Bub (the villian) wants her wooded land so he can cut down all of the trees to feed his saw mill. His evil plot is to force Emmy's sick mother to marry him because he is sure she will soon die and he will snatch all of the property.

The town doctor tells Emmy that her mother must have lots of cow's milk to recover from her illness. Sadly, there are no cows nearby and she certainly has no milk.

As luck would have it, our hero Cornelius (Corny for short) finds and buys a cow. With plenty of milk, Emmy's mother gains strength and begins to feel better. (continued below)

A melodrama is an Early American form of theatre. It's emotion-packed, exaggerated style characterized drama a century ago.

In melodrama, the story line can always be whittled down to GOOD verses EVIL and GOOD always wins in the end.

Typical characters in melodramas include:

The Villain
Usually a nasty, money grubbing person who wears a black cape and high silk hat. He slinks about the stage and swirls his cape. Boy, is he mean!

He plots to force the Heroine (almost always a fair damsel) into marrying him but, when he fails, he attempts something dastardly like tying her to a railroad track.

The Hero
With his chest out and very proud of himself, the Hero stomps around the stage showing his strength and bravery. While he may not be too smart, he is always honest and loyal.

The Heroine
The beautiful woman in these tales has a talent for getting herself into hopeless situations where she is at the mercy of the Villian. In contemporary drama, this would not be an acceptable plot line, but in American theatre long ago, it was not unusual.

Fear not! No matter how gullible or helpless the Heroine is, she will be saved by the strong and brave Hero. In melodramas, you can be assured of that!

Bazel Bub sees that his vile plan is spoiled. In desperation, he cownaps the beast and takes her to his saw mill where he plans to saw her in two. The spinning saw blade's steel teeth come closer and closer to the poor cow as Bazel Bub laughs with glee.

At the last moment, Cornelius arrives at the mill and a struggle for control of the mighty saw ensues.

Will Cornelius overpower the evil Bazel Bub? Will the cow be saved? Will Emmy and her mother retain their wooded home? You'll just have to book a performance to find out!